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Donald Trump will be sentenced Friday for covering up hush money payments to a porn star despite the US President-elect’s last-ditch efforts to frustrate a process that would make him the first felon in the White House.The judge has indicated, however, that Trump will not face prison — even though the 34 counts of falsifying business records on which he was convicted in May 2024 carry potential prison time. It is instead anticipated that he will receive the mildest criminal sanction available, an unconditional discharge — a relatively uncommon measure.Sentencing, which Trump is expected to attend virtually, will happen in the scruffy Manhattan courtroom that was the scene of the trial’s high drama, legal wrangling and vitriolic personal attacks by the divisive Republican.The trial saw Trump forced to look on as a string of witnesses testified that he had fraudulently covered up illicit payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in an effort to stop her disclosing their tryst ahead of the 2016 presidential election, which he ultimately won.Daniels gave toe-curling testimony that included details about her sexual encounter with Trump — which he has always denied — as well as his flirting and interest in the adult film industry.The judge intervened to stop more explicit testimony.Trump had made an eleventh-hour plea for a suspension of the criminal proceedings to the nation’s highest court after a New York State appeals court dismissed his effort to have the hearing delayed, and the state’s top court declined to act on the request.But the Supreme Court ruled that the sentencing could proceed.Prosecutors opposed the effort to stave off sentencing, 10 days before Trump is due to be sworn in for a second term, arguing it was wrong for the apex court to hear the case when the mogul still had avenues of appeal to pursue in New York.”This Court lacks jurisdiction over a state court’s management of an ongoing criminal trial when defendant has not exhausted his state-law remedies,” the prosecution told the Supreme Court Thursday.- Legal wrangling -His lawyers have used several legal maneuvers in an effort to fend off the sentencing, which the judge in the case, Juan Merchan, has already indicated in a filing will not result in jail time.Instead, experts expect Trump will receive an unconditional discharge, a measure without any sanctions or restriction that nonetheless upholds the jury’s guilty verdict — and Trump’s infamy as the first former president to be convicted of a felony.The 78-year-old Trump had potentially faced up to four years in prison.”He’s sticking his middle finger at the judge, the jury, the system of justice, and laughing,” said Pace University law professor and former prosecutor Bennett Gershman.Trump’s counsel had argued sentencing should be postponed while the Republican appeals his conviction, but New York state Associate Justice Ellen Gesmer rejected that on Tuesday.Trump’s lawyers additionally claimed the immunity from prosecution granted to a US president should be extended to a president-elect — Gesmer also brushed those arguments aside.His attorneys had further sought to have the case dismissed based on the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling last year, which stated former US presidents have sweeping immunity from prosecution for a range of official acts committed while in office.Trump was certified as the winner of the 2024 presidential election on Monday, four years after his supporters rioted at the US Capitol as he sought to overturn his 2020 defeat.

In the skies above Los Angeles, air tankers and helicopters silhouetted by the setting California sun dart in and out of giant wildfire plumes, dropping much-needed flame retardant and precious water onto the angry fires below.Looking in almost any direction from a chopper above the city, AFP reporters witnessed half a dozen blazes — eruptions of smoldering smoke emerging from the mountainous landscape like newly active volcanoes, and filling up the horizon.Within minutes, a previously quiet airspace above the nascent Kenneth Fire had become a hotbed of frenzied activity, as firefighting officials quickly refocused their significant air resources on this latest blaze.Around half a dozen helicopters buzzed at low altitude, tipping water onto the edge of the inferno.Higher up, small aircraft periodically guided giant tankers that dumped bright-red retardant onto the flames.”There’s never been so many at the same time, just ripping” through the skies, said helicopter pilot Albert Azouz.Flying for a private aviation company since 2016, he has seen plenty of fires including the deadly Malibu blazes of six years ago.”That was insane,” he recalled. But this, he repeatedly says while hovering his helicopter above the chaos, is “crazy town.”The new Kenneth Fire burst into life late Thursday afternoon near Calabasas, a swanky  enclave outside Los Angeles made famous by its celebrity residents such as reality television’s Kardashian clan.Aircraft including Boeing Chinook helitankers fitted with 3,000-gallon tanks have been brought in from as far afield as Canada.Unable to fly during the first few hours of the Los Angeles fires on Tuesday due to gusts of up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour, these have become an invaluable tool in the battle to contain blazes and reduce any further devastation.Helicopters performed several hundred drops on Thursday, while conditions permitted.Those helicopters equipped to operate at night continued to buzz around the smoke-filled region, working frantically to tackle the flames, before stronger gusts are forecast to sweep back in to the Los Angeles basin overnight.

Months of dry weather and recent strong winds created optimal conditions for the deadly wildfires engulfing Los Angeles, but narratives on social media falsely single out “liberal” policies — including those to increase diversity in the city’s fire force — as the culprit.Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley, who was appointed in 2022 after two decades of service, was singled out in a series of X posts blaming her department’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy.”She boasts about being the first female and LGBTQ fire chief in the LA Fire Department. Promoting a culture of DEI is her priority. Does this make you feel safer?” the anti-LGBTQ account Libs of TikTok posted on January 8 on X.”They prioritized DEI over saving lives and homes,” X’s billionaire owner Elon Musk, a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, chimed in.But experts say such scapegoating is hardly unexpected.From the Maui fires in 2023 and hurricanes Milton and Helene in 2024, every recent major natural disaster in the United States has systematically triggered social media narratives questioning the effort and legitimacy of first responders.”This rhetoric is expected — and has become increasingly mainstreamed — following extreme weather phenomena and disasters,” added Sara Aniano, a disinformation analyst at the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism.- Trump effect -Social media users also attacked California Governor Gavin Newsom, echoing misleading complaints from Trump about how the state handles its water supply.”Governor Gavin Newscum should immediately go to Northern California and open up the water main, and let the water flow into his dry, starving, burning State,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, using his preferred nickname for the leader.But most Los Angeles water comes from the city’s aqueduct, not Northern California.At a White House briefing, US President Joe Biden pushed back against Trump’s accusations that California authorities have wasted water and said there was no room for politics in the situation. He called for officials to be “honest” and “straightforward” with the public about the available capacity.Trump also tried to blame a lack of water on environmentalists’ efforts to protect the smelt — a small fish that lives hundreds of miles away from the fires. Such comments are a distraction from known impacts on the fires, such as the Santa Ana winds, and the fact that fire events in the state have been enhanced by a changing climate. Scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather patterns and changing how wildfires impact the US West.Southern California had two decades of drought that were followed by two exceptionally wet years that sparked furious vegetative growth. Then the region had no significant rain for eight months. Altogether, the weather left the area packed with fuel and primed to burn.Nearly 180,000 people across Los Angeles remain under evacuation orders, and at least five people have died, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.Authorities continue to investigate the causes of the two main fires –- Palisades and Eaton –- with no evidence to support social media claims pinning blame on the homeless population or “ecoterrorists.” Such false narratives “undercut the people and organizations trying to help” and “sow division within the community,” said Sarah Labowitz, a climate and geopolitics expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.”It’s the exact opposite of what keeps people safe and ready to recover.”

A blackened swimming pool and a chimney were all that remained when Oren Waters returned home Thursday to assess what remained of his home of 50 years on the outskirts of Los Angeles. “This looks like the apocalypse, to be honest with you, it just doesn’t feel like the normal things that happen in your life,” the 74-year-old singer, whose voice appears in Michael Jackson’s album “Thriller,” told AFP.”It’s unimaginable,” he said through a protective mask, as a few embers burned on the ground. Waters returned to where his house once stood after the fierce winds that have been spreading fires across the Los Angeles area since Tuesday calmed. The blazes remained totally uncontained on Thursday, and the mountain overlooking Altadena, a suburban community of 42,000 people, was still in flames. The blaze dubbed the “Eaton Fire” has killed several people in the Altadena area. One man was found dead in front of his house with a hose in his hand. Waters said he also tried to fight the fire with a hose and buckets of water, working desperately to salvage items from his house until the last possible minute on Tuesday evening, as “fireballs” soared overhead. He said he didn’t know the man who died, but can understand the urge to fight back, despite the risks. “When you have the fighting spirit in you, you don’t think about what you can’t do, you think about what you need to do, what you can do,” Waters said. – ‘Extremely underprepared’ -Under the ashes of his house, the carcass of a vintage car was visible. Waters said it was a 1935 Chevrolet Standard, which has cost him upwards of $150,000. “I’m going to miss it,” added Waters, whose voice also appears in the Disney film “The Lion King.”In this neighborhood, there were homes that remained randomly intact next to those that were torched.Kalen Astoor, a 36-year-old paralegal, said her mother’s home was among those spared. A neighbor saved it by shovelling dirt on flames once the city cut off the water. The panorama in the area now “looks wrong,” she said, surveying what she described as a view “of death and of destruction and of black.”The biggest blaze ripped through nearly 20,000 acres (8,100 hectares) of the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood, while the fire in Altadena torched 13,000 acres (5,300 hectares). Astoor said it feels like the authorities were “extremely underprepared.””California is a state that burns, we should not be overwhelmed when it comes to firefighters. That’s like the thing we need to put money into: earthquake and fire.”- ‘Glad to be alive’ -A few hundred yards (meters) away, standing in front of the house where he lived with his parents, 41-year-old Adam Clingmon admitted to feeling “numb.””I don’t hold any grudges, there’s nothing that no one could do,” said the special education teacher, whose firefighter brother has been battling the Pacific Palisades blaze. “They were just stretched too thin, by the time firefighters from different counties got here, it was just too late for us,” he told AFP. “I’m just glad to be alive,” he said, recounting his narrow escape with his parents, which involved clearing a tree trunk that was obstructing the only road out. His concern was also focused on Altadena’s future, especially after insurance companies cancelled coverage for some in the area, citing the risk of extreme weather disasters linked to climate change. “I hope the insurance companies don’t screw us,” he said. “We definitely want to rebuild and bring this community back.”

As chaotic wildfires razed homes around Los Angeles forcing thousands to flee, one evacuation shelter was being overwhelmed Thursday with donations.The center at Pan Pacific Park, just south of Hollywood in the heart of Los Angeles, was having to turn away donations after kind-hearted locals brought cars full of food, clothing and toiletries.”We appreciate the support, donations and volunteers, however do not need anything additional at this time,” read a handwritten sign posted outside the shelter.The Sunset Fire, which erupted Wednesday night in the affluent Hollywood Hills, just a few hundred meters (yards) from the storied theaters of Hollywood Boulevard, sparked an evacuation order for thousands of people living in the heart of America’s entertainment capital.Some of those told to leave their homes — a mixture of multi-million dollar mansions and small, rent-controlled apartments — made their way to the city-run center.”It exploded so quickly, I’ve never seen fire move that fast,” Eric Calhoun, a city recreation director overseeing the site, told AFP.But almost as soon as the evacuees started arriving, so did the donations, and the center was soon full to bursting with goods.”I had to direct truckloads and truckloads to go to other sites,” Calhoun said.Evacuation orders for the Sunset Fire were lifted by Thursday, and by the afternoon the evacuation center had cleared out — for now.Other wildfires, including the Eaton Fire burning inland in the San Gabriel Valley and the Palisades Fire closer to the coast, have torched more than 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) combined, destroyed more than 6,000 buildings and killed at least five people.Despite the fire activity winding down from decreasing Santa Ana winds, Calhoun said emergency assistance was in a bit of a “holding pattern,” as more wind activity was forecast for next week.

From laptops to EVs, lithium-ion batteries have fueled phenomenal growth in the 21st century, but businesses struggle with a significant downside: increased fire risk.At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), companies unveiled a next-generation garbage truck designed to detect these highly flammable batteries.The innovation comes as careless disposal of batteries from smartphones, electric toothbrushes, and other gadgets has become an acute problem at recycling centers. The owner of a New Jersey recycling plant that caught fire early Thursday pointed to the batteries as a likely cause.In the United States, across the industry, “a couple of recycling centers burn down every year,” said Jon Vander Ark, chief executive of waste management company Republic Services.Republic showcased their solution at CES: a state-of-the-art garbage truck built by industrial company Oshkosh that screens for the batteries. The vehicle resembles a conventional garbage truck, weighing in at more than 41,000 pounds and capable of carrying nine tons of cargo. But it is fully electric and outfitted with AI software that scans for problem refuse in garbage and recycling loads.While Republic already uses detection systems at recycling facilities, batteries sometimes slip through.If undetected, a forklift can run over a small battery and start a fire, Vander Ark told AFP. The new trucks allow drivers to flag collections containing batteries as sensitive loads before they reach recycling plants.”Getting that out of the stream is of huge value to us,” said Vander Ark. – Value in trash -The Oshkosh booth also showcased electric arm technology that can speed up trash collections and software that identifies non-recyclable contamination in recycling bins.The spiffed-up vehicles provide a font of operational data that can make better use of a trash driver’s time, said Oshkosh CEO John Pfeifer.Companies can pinpoint contamination sources to educate customers or fine repeat offenders, he explained.The trucks even capture video evidence when drivers can’t access bins due to blocked pickup spots. “When a customer asks, ‘Why didn’t you pick me up?’…we have video evidence,” said Vander Ark.He noted that waste management is particularly well-suited for electrification since trucks typically travel shorter distances per shift, eliminating the range concerns that often deter everyday EV consumers.The quieter electric trucks could also allow for earlier morning collections when traffic is lighter, while their overnight charging capability ensures operational readiness.

The US Supreme Court on Thursday denied a last-minute bid by President-elect Donald Trump to halt sentencing in his hush money case.The top court, which includes three justices appointed by Trump, rejected his emergency application seeking to block Friday’s sentencing by a 5-4 vote.The court, in a brief unsigned order, said the “burden that sentencing will impose on the President-Elect’s responsibilities is relatively insubstantial” and noted that Trump will be allowed to attend virtually.The court also noted that Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the hush money case, has already said he plans to impose a sentence of “unconditional discharge,” which does not carry any jail time, fine or probation.Trump is to be sentenced in Manhattan at 9:30 am (1430 GMT) on Friday after being convicted by a New York jury in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.The 78-year-old Trump, who is to be inaugurated on January 20, is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and will be the first convicted felon to serve in the White House.In a post on Truth Social following the Supreme Court decision, Trump thanked the court for “trying to remedy the great injustice done to me” and lashed out at Merchan, calling him a “highly political and corrupt judge.””I am innocent of all of the Judge’s made up, fake charges,” he said, adding that he will continue to pursue appeals of the guilty verdict in the hush money case.Trump filed an emergency application with the nine-member Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking to block his sentencing.Four conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh — were in favor of granting Trump’s request.Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, also conservatives, joined the court’s three liberal justices in rejecting the president-elect’s effort. Barrett, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh were appointed by Trump.- ‘Grave injustice’ -Trump’s lawyers made several legal maneuvers in an effort to fend off sentencing, arguing that it would be a “grave injustice” and harm “the institution of the presidency and the operations of the federal government.”Trump’s attorneys also claimed that the immunity from prosecution granted to a sitting president should be extended to a president-elect.Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg rejected their arguments in his response on Thursday, saying Trump was a private citizen when he was “charged, tried, and convicted.””Defendant makes the unprecedented claim that the temporary presidential immunity he will possess in the future fully immunizes him now, weeks before he even takes the oath of office,” he said.Bragg also said the Supreme Court “lacks jurisdiction over a state court’s management of an ongoing criminal trial” and preventing sentencing would be an “extraordinary step” by the top court.In the order allowing sentencing to go ahead, the Supreme Court said Trump can still appeal his conviction through the New York state courts.Merchan said last week that he was leaning towards giving Trump an unconditional discharge that would not carry jail time. He also agreed to allow the president-elect to attend Friday’s sentencing virtually instead of in person.Trump potentially faced up to four years in prison, but legal experts — even before he won the November presidential election — did not expect Merchan to incarcerate him.Trump was certified as the winner of the 2024 presidential election on Monday, four years after his supporters rioted at the US Capitol as he sought to overturn his 2020 defeat.

The US Supreme Court is to hear TikTok’s appeal on Friday of a law that would force its Chinese owner to sell the wildly popular online video-sharing platform or shut it down.The top court is holding oral arguments in the case nine days before TikTok faces a ban unless ByteDance divests from the popular app.Signed by President Joe Biden in April, the law would block TikTok from US app stores and web hosting services unless ByteDance sells its stake by January 19.The US government alleges TikTok allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users and is a conduit to spread propaganda. China and ByteDance strongly deny the claims.TikTok is arguing that the law — the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act — violates its First Amendment rights.”We believe the Court will find the TikTok ban unconstitutional so the over 170 million Americans on our platform can continue to exercise their free speech rights,” a TikTok spokesman said.In a filing with the Supreme Court, TikTok said “Congress has enacted a massive and unprecedented speech restriction” that would “shutter one of America’s most popular speech platforms.””This, in turn, will silence the speech of Applicants and the many Americans who use the platform to communicate about politics, commerce, arts, and other matters of public concern,” it added.The potential ban could strain US-China relations just as Donald Trump prepares to be sworn in as president on January 20.Trump, who has 14.7 million followers on TikTok, has emerged as an unlikely ally of the platform in a reversal from his first term, when the Republican leader tried to ban the app, citing national security concerns.Trump’s lawyer, John Sauer, filed a brief with the Supreme Court last month asking it to pause the law.In the amicus curiae — or “friend of the court” — brief, Sauer made it clear the president-elect does not take a position on the legal merits of the current case.”Instead, he respectfully requests that the court consider staying the act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025… thus permitting President Trump’s incoming Administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case,” Sauer said.- ‘You need competition’ -The president-elect met with TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida in December.Trump told Bloomberg recently he had changed his mind about the app.”Now (that) I’m thinking about it, I’m for TikTok, because you need competition,” he said.A coalition of free speech groups — including the influential American Civil Liberties Union — filed a separate brief with the Supreme Court opposing the law, citing censorship concerns.”Such a ban is unprecedented in our country and, if it goes into effect, will cause a far-reaching disruption in Americans’ ability to engage with the content and audiences of their choice online,” they said.In an 11th hour development on Thursday, US billionaire Frank McCourt, founder of the non-profit Project Liberty, announced that he had put together a consortium to acquire TikTok’s US assets from ByteDance.”We’ve put forward a proposal to ByteDance,” McCourt said in a statement. “We look forward to working with ByteDance, President-elect Trump, and the incoming administration to get this deal done.”AFP, among more than a dozen other fact-checking organizations, is paid by TikTok in several countries to verify videos that potentially contain false information.

People forced to flee their homes by massive wildfires tearing through Los Angeles were taking turns to patrol their streets to ward off looters on Thursday.At least 20 people have been arrested in the aftermath of massive fires that have razed whole neighborhoods, officials said.Police warned that officers were flooding the affected areas and would challenge anyone they thought should not be there.With such a huge area scorched by the fires, which are ravaging the well-to-do Pacific Palisades and another area around Altadena, evacuees feared not enough was being done.Some are taking matters into their own hands.One man whose house was one of just a handful left standing on a burned-out Altadena street told AFP said he was working with his neighbors.”We’re so stressed about this looting happening all around that my neighbors were on watch all last night for several houses in the neighborhood,” said the man, who did not want to give his name.”I’m supposed to take over for them tonight.”Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said his officers were pushing into fire-wrecked areas and evacuation zones to try to deter wrongdoers.”We continue to conduct roving patrols, manning hard road closures, providing security in evacuation areas to prevent anyone who may be tempted to engage in criminal… behavior like looting,” he told a press conference on Thursday.He said the bar for arresting people in an evacuation zone was low, and warned that his officers would pounce.”When we have an evacuation order by law, if you remain in that area, you are guilty of a misdemeanor. If you commit certain crimes, it could jump up to a felony,” he said.”If you are in one of these areas and you do not belong there, you are going to be subject to arrest.”Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said anyone the sheriff’s department handed over to his office would be dealt with severely.”If you want to go ahead and loot, if you want to commit burglary, if you want to engage in grand theft… you will be arrested, you will be prosecuted, and you will be punished to the full extent of the law,” he said.Hochman said no one should think that taking property from an evacuation zone was a small matter.”It’s a huge deal. These acts are despicable, and we will prosecute them with maximal punishment.”

A man notorious for shooting up a pizzeria in the US capital where he wrongly believed Hillary Clinton and other Democrats were running a child sex ring has been killed in a traffic stop police shooting, local media reported Thursday.The North Carolina man who died Monday, two days after the incident with police, has now been identified as Edgar Maddison Welch, who was at the center of the bizarre story that came to be known as “Pizzagate,” news outlets said.It involved the bogus conspiracy theory that Comet Ping Pong, a Washington pizza restaurant, was a hub for a child sex trafficking ring involving Clinton — who ran for US president in 2016 — and other prominent Democrats.In December of that year, Welch was arrested after he fired his assault rifle inside the eatery. He told police that he drove up from North Carolina to personally investigate stories that Comet was a center for child abduction.The false claim was an early taste of the conspiracy theories that would later abound among far-right conservatives in the Donald Trump era.Welch, then 29, was sentenced in 2017 to four years in prison after being convicted of a federal charge of interstate transport of firearms and a Washington DC charge of assault with a dangerous weapon. He was released from prison in March 2020.When Welch was sentenced, the US attorney’s office said the judge in the case declared “the extent of the recklessness in this case is breathtaking” and it was only through “sheer luck” that no one was wounded.On Saturday, police in the North Carolina town of Kannapolis stopped a car they believed to be driven by someone with an outstanding warrant. The driver was Welch.When police tried to open the car and arrest him, Welch pulled a gun and refused orders to drop it. Two officers then shot him, the Charlotte Observer newspaper reported. Welch died two days later in the hospital.